


You’re Good Enough

by EpicNerd



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir Needs a Hug, Awesome Nino Lahiffe, Brotp, Good Bro Nino Lahiffe, Hot Mess Adrien Agreste
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-22
Updated: 2021-01-22
Packaged: 2021-03-13 21:22:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,173
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28910022
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EpicNerd/pseuds/EpicNerd
Summary: When Adrien is upset and vulnerable, Nino steps in to calm him down.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir & Nino Lahiffe
Comments: 5
Kudos: 46





	You’re Good Enough

Adrien slammed the bathroom stall’s door shut, hastily locking it before stumbling back, falling to the ground between the wall and the toilet. Rapid pants of breath make his chest feel as if it’s going to burst, so he wraps his arms around himself, hugging himself tightly. However, his hands don’t stay still for long as they find themselves digging into his scalp, twisting his hair between his fingers as his blurry eyes stared at his shoes. His vision kept growing dark and bright, for his pupils couldn’t adjust properly to the lighting of the stall. Forcing air in and out between his grit teeth, he strains to listen for any approaching footsteps. None come.

Feeling a lump in his throat that was threatening to choke him, Adrien untangles one hand from his hair and cups it over his mouth as he tries to stifle his sobs. The nails of his other hand dig further into his head, making him focus on the pain rather than his spiraling thoughts. Drawing his legs up to his chest, he removes both of his hands and wraps his arms around his legs as he buried his face in his knees. His jeans quickly became stained as tears streamed freely down his cheeks.

“Adrien, you need to calm down before you attract an akuma,” Plagg says, hovering in front of the teen’s head.

“Leave me alone, Plagg,” Adrien says, his voice sounding a little strained and gargled as he lifted his head up to look at the kwami with bloodshot eyes as he rubbed his nose before returning to the dark comfort of his knees.

“Alright. You’ll find me in your bag eating cheese if you need me.”

The kwami zips away, and Adrien immediately feels bad for being mean. That regret adds to the pit consuming him in his chest, causing him to curl even further in on himself, wanting to be as small as possible.

“Adrien? Bro? You in here?” Nino calls out, standing in the doorway.

Adrien responds with a sharp intake of air as he wiped away his tears into his elbow and moved to stand up. Before he can get to his own feet, he sees Nino’s approach and stop in front of the stall before there’s a soft knock at the door.

“Bro?”

“Yeah, I’m in here. I’m fine!” Adrien called out, hoping his voice was convincing enough to be left alone.

“Dude, you hardly waited for the teach to say you could go before springing up and bolting out of the room. If you’re fine, then I’m freaking Chat Noir. You can talk to me, bro.”

“It’s nothing. Really!”

“I saw your test score before you could shove it in your backpack.”

Adrien’s breath hitches, and he feels as if he’s about to burst into tears all over again.

“Father’s going to be so disappointed when he finds out.”

“There will be more tests, Adrien. Besides, you still got a B, which is higher than the class’s average for the test.”

“I’m a straight-A student, Nino…”

“It’s just one test, dude, and I’ll help you if you aren’t getting anything! That’s what friends are for!”

“It’s not just-! One…test…It’s that Kagami let slip in front of Nathalie that she beat me in fencing once again and in front of the whole team and the instructor. It’s that I was off-tempo the last time I played piano for Father. It’s that photoshoots are taking longer and longer because I’m just so tired all the time and struggle to give the energy that the photos need. It’s that I got flustered during a Chinese lesson and couldn’t form coherent sentences at the level Father expects me to be at. It’s that, at my last basketball game, I missed the shot that should have been so easy to make. It’s that I lost the upper-hand momentarily during my karate lessons the one time my Father was watching.”

“Wow. You have way too many expectations put on you,” Nino says bluntly.

“What?”

“It’s no wonder you’re struggling, bro. There’s only so much one person can do, especially a teenager. It sounds to me like you’re overwhelmed, and it’s draining you to the point that you can’t hold the passion and the drive to hold up the expectations your old man has put on you for no reason.”

“It’s not for no reason. I’m  _ Adrien Agreste _ , son of Gabriel and heir to the brand of the same name. I’m always being watched and criticized by fans and critics alike, and that can easily reflect poorly on the company if people don’t like what they see.

“I don’t smile for the camera, and stocks go down. I don’t walk away from games and competitions with gold medals and trophies, and employees have to be let go because people suddenly aren’t buying products at the needed frequency anymore. I mess up, and Father suffers for it. I’m  _ Adrien Agreste _ , and I have to be perfect. Everything I do matters, and it sucks,” Adrien explains, spitting out the last few words.

Nino listened silently, patiently, before making a request.

“Can you open the door?”

Adrien hesitates before shimmying up the wall to a standing position, and he unlocks the door, stepping out of the stall to stand face-to-face with Nino. Without warning, Nino wrapped his arms around Adrien, embracing him with one hand cradling the blonde’s head as he rested his own chin on the other boy’s shoulder.

“You are an amazing person, Adrien. Do you hear me? I would be intimidated by your awesomeness if I didn’t know there was such a kind heart in you that cares more than it should. All your extracurriculars that shouldn’t have been forced on you in the first place prove how awesome you are, but they don’t define it. Take it all away, and you’re still a sweet, smart, caring human being.

“I’d bet my entire DJ booth setup that every single one of our classmates would agree, because they see you as Adrien Agreste, a friend. You’re right, it sucks that everything you do matters, and I don’t know if there’s anything that I personally can do about it. But maybe Nathalie and your old man can. They care about you, too, Adrien, and I doubt that they want you to be suffering like this.”

“But…I…”

“Bro,” Nino says, leaning back and bracing his hands on Adrien’s shoulders as they look each other in the eyes, “yes, the brand is important and downsizing and stocks are scary, but what’s even scarier is thinking that someone like you, someone who deserves the world for giving everything and expecting nothing in return, is horrifying. Talk to your Father.”

“He’s always busy; he won’t listen.”

“Make him.”

“I don’t know…” Adrien mumbles, his eyes drifting down to the floor as shame for not being strong takes over him.

“Look at me,” Nino says, ducking his head down to catch Adrien’s gaze again, “you are worth it. You’re good enough.”


End file.
